Sefina stood at the entrance of the empty Carriage 7, the aura of deathly silence so thick it felt almost tangible.
She did not hesitate and continued to stride forward. Her wine-red eyes were sharp in the gloom.
Passing through Carriage Seven and entering Carriage Six—but it was still empty!
Carriage Five, Carriage Four… until Sefina reached the connecting point between Carriage One and the locomotive cab.
But without exception, aside from Carriage 8 behind which still held a semblance of “life” and Carriage 10 where she had been, all the carriages ahead were as if something had erased all traces of life, leaving only neatly arranged empty seats.
Moreover, the interiors of the carriages were excessively clean, without even a single personal item left behind by passengers, as if they had been empty from the very beginning.
Yet this train continued to travel steadily through the pitch-black night, the steel behemoth roaring forward.
The locomotive… there must be a driver in the locomotive cab. He couldn’t possibly be unaware of the abnormality in the carriages behind. Would he know something? Or perhaps he himself was part of this bizarre phenomenon?
This was Sefina’s deduction. Her heart tightened slightly, her vigilance raised to its peak.
She placed her hand on the heavy metal door handle leading to the locomotive cab. The touch was icy cold. She applied gentle pressure and pulled down—
Click—!
Inside the cab, various faintly glowing magic crystal instrument panels and control levers came into view. But the most crucial position, the driver’s seat, was… still empty?
Just as Sefina was momentarily stunned by this unexpected scene, from the visual blind spot beside the door, a dim figure that had almost merged with the shadows abruptly materialized.
He seemed to have been lying in wait here, having heard Sefina’s gradually approaching footsteps, waiting for this moment of distraction when the door opened!
The figure moved with ghostly speed, his hands dancing rapidly. A magic array pattern emitting a pale cyan light instantly coalesced before him, with a surge of powerful wind element mana!
Fifth-rank magic—[Wind Pressure Slash]
There was no time to make any evasive move! That sharp, fully charged wind blade, like a scythe of death, instantly slashed toward Sefina, seemingly about to tear her mana-constructed body into shreds!
However, just before the wind blade made contact—
The figure of “Sefina” rippled violently like a reflection in water disturbed by a stone, rapidly becoming transparent and faint, until it completely dissipated into the air as if it had never been there.
It was Sefina’s clone magic.
Far away in Carriage 10, Sefina’s true body slowly opened her wine-red eyes, her gaze icy cold.
She naturally understood the danger of this reconnaissance. Venturing alone to the locomotive cab was akin to walking into a trap.
Therefore, from the moment she decided to investigate forward, Sefina had only dispatched a mana-constructed doppelganger. Her true body remained at the relatively safer end of Carriage 10, with Flovi.
Everything that happened in the locomotive cab, including that sudden attack, was clearly transmitted back to her mind through the magical connection.
Combining the railway route she had just seen on the map and the results of her doppelganger’s reconnaissance, Sefina had already guessed roughly eight or nine parts of what was happening.
“Proceed as planned!”
Sefina commanded in a low voice, her tone resolute and leaving no room for doubt.
Flovi nodded heavily without a moment’s hesitation.
The next instant, she abruptly turned and rushed toward the nearby restroom, deftly opened the window, and without hesitation, leaped out from the window of the rapidly moving train.
Almost simultaneously, Sefina raised her wand. A flash of cyan magical light flickered at its tip.
A gentle yet powerful airflow precisely caught the falling Flovi, slowing her descent, allowing her to land as lightly as a feather on the grass beside the railway tracks, safe and sound.
After landing, Flovi didn’t pause for a second. Her figure quickly melted into the night, stealthily moving toward the predetermined direction.
***
Meanwhile, inside Carriage 10, Sefina’s true body narrowed her eyes sharply. The ice-blue wand in her hand suddenly erupted with a dazzling crimson-red light as torrents of fire element mana frantically gathered.
Fifth-rank magic—[Crimson Flame Storm]
Without any warning, Sefina directly unleashed this extremely powerful area-of-effect attack magic, aiming it straight into the interior of the connected Carriage 8 ahead.
BOOM—!!!
A torrent of scorching flames, like an awakened fire dragon, roared into Carriage 8. Orange-red waves of fire instantly engulfed the seats, luggage racks, and those seemingly “sleeping” passengers.
The entire carriage was transformed into a blazing inferno in an instant. The raging flames illuminated Sefina’s cold face.
This sudden explosion and towering flames instantly awakened all the students and teachers in Carriage 10!
“What’s happening?!”
“An explosion?!”
“Oh my god! The front is on fire!”
Exclamations and screams erupted one after another.
Sleepiness was instantly dispelled as everyone stared in horror at Carriage 8, which had turned into a sea of fire ahead, and at Teacher Sefina standing at the carriage connection.
“Sefina! You… what on earth is going on?”
Teacher Shalina was also awakened. She rushed to Sefina’s side, looking at the scene before her, her face filled with shock and confusion.
Sefina did not turn her head. Her gaze was fixed dead ahead on the sea of fire, her tone unprecedentedly serious and urgent:
“Enemy attack! Quickly! Use your summoning magic, have your summoned creature pull the carriage backward! Now!!”
Sefina’s voice carried an undeniable sense of urgency. Though filled with questions, out of absolute trust in Sefina and faced with this clearly abnormal situation, Shalina immediately suppressed all her doubts.
“Understood!”
Shalina instantly switched into action. She raised her wand high, closed her eyes to concentrate, and powerful mana waves spread out from her center.
A complex summoning magic array pattern rapidly materialized in the air above Carriage 10, emitting a deep blue glow.
Screeee—!
A piercingly sharp eagle cry tore through the night sky. At the center of the array, a giant eagle summoned creature abruptly appeared. Its talons precisely and powerfully grabbed onto the rear coupling hook of Carriage 10.
The giant eagle flapped its wings with all its might, powerful air currents kicking up dust from the ground.
In a low-altitude diving posture, it began to drag the heavy Carriage 10 along the railway tracks, moving rapidly backward, away from the burning train ahead.
“What on earth is going on?! Teacher Sefina!”
A student shouted in terror. Everything before them exceeded their comprehension.
However, before Sefina could respond—
Ahead, the burning train came to an abrupt halt. Immediately after, as the mana of the [Crimson Flame Storm] gradually depleted, the flames inside Carriage 8 began to rapidly extinguish and dissipate.
As the flames receded, what was revealed was not the expected charred wreckage and burned corpses…
Instead, inside Carriage 8, all those previously “sleeping” passengers were now standing perfectly unharmed.
Their “casual clothes” faded away like illusions, revealing identical black combat outfits underneath.
Each of them tightly gripped a standard-issue wand. The previous “serenity” on their faces was gone, replaced by cold killing intent!
Defensive magics of various colors swirled around each “passenger.” It was these magics that had protected them from being directly killed by the [Crimson Flame Storm].
Yes, they were not passengers at all.
They were assassins disguised as passengers!